Never
by worldindustriesgurl
Summary: A new girl comes to skool and catches Dib's eye. She's beautiful, and unlike everyone else, she believes him. But this perfect match ends in tragedy.


.  
  
With the latest issue of Crop Circle Magazine open in front of him,  
Dib busily scribbled down some info on Bigfoot while Gaz played her  
GS2.  
  
"Gaz! I think I've-"  
  
The GS2 fell to the floor with a clank. Gaz's eyes grew wide and  
started twitching. Her whole body shook and her teeth were bared.  
  
"Dib," she said through clenched teeth, "I was on the very last level  
of Vampire Piggy Hunter. Vengeance will be mine, Dib, do you  
understand?"  
  
She got her GS2 and promptly tapped the 'RESET' button.  
  
Dib sighed. No one, not even his own family, listened to his great  
theories of paranormal phenomena... or anything for that matter. If  
only there was someone, someone to listen to him, someone to talk to.  
If only...  
  
Prof. Membrane burst into the room.  
  
"Kids! You. are about to be late," he said dramatically, "Hmmm.  
unless. unless I do something ab-"  
  
"Dad, we're leaving," Dib groaned.  
  
He walked out the door, contemplating his theories some more, and then  
took a quick look at Zim's house.  
  
Everything was the same, day after day.  
  
He arrived at Skool and collapsed on his desk, depressed from life  
itself. Ms. Bitters seemed to be yelling about something on the phone.  
  
"No, no, no! No! I will not allow it do you hear me? What? Oh...  
you'll pay for this," She slammed down the phone and it burst into  
flames, "Class, against my futile complaints and ironic hate of  
children, we will have a new student whom I expect will be doomed as  
the rest of this hopeless student body."  
  
Just then, light footsteps could be heard outside the room. The door  
could be heard swinging open and Dib looked up in surprise. He  
couldn't help but stare. This person was a girl, and was attractive in  
her own way.  
  
She had pale blue, stick-straight hair that reached her elbows and  
dark eye makeup. She wore a sleeveless black dress with blue and black  
striped sleeves, striped stockings and little boots with blue buckles.  
She also had an oddly shaped silver necklace, but the strangest thing  
was, she had these glittery purple eyes.  
  
"Hi," she said, "My name's Nal. I'm... new here."  
  
The class stared. A few drooled.  
  
Nal's dazzling violet eyes scanned the room, as if waiting for someone  
to speak up. Her eyes stopped on Dib for a second, then blinked and  
looked around some more.  
  
"Let's see here... you," She pointed to the kid next to Dib, "Go home.  
A note will be sent to your parents regarding the fact that your  
hopelessness has gotten you kicked out of Skool."  
  
The kid cheered and grinned crazily.  
  
"At last!" he cried, and ran like lightning out of the room.  
  
Nal looked bewildered for a second, then pulled herself together and  
walked over to the crazy kid's desk. Ms. Bitters continued her lecture  
on doom.  
  
Nal leaned over to Dib. "Hey," she said, blushing, "What's your name?"  
  
Dib was surprised. No girl, let alone a nice-looking girl, had ever  
even considered talking to him, unless it was an insult. Then again,  
Nal was new and knew nothing of his past. In a few days, she would  
hate him just like every other girl. This was a very depressing  
thought, so he decided to make the most of this.  
  
"Oh... um, Dib," he said quickly.  
  
"Hi, I'm Nal. Nice to meet you, Dib," she said, smiling.  
  
The recess bell rang and Dib walked out to the playground. Nal's  
footsteps could be heard rushing behind him. He stopped and turned  
around.  
  
"So... um, Dib. I saw that magazine you had in your desk. I've been  
studying Bigfoot for a while and I saw an article about it in it. Did  
you read it?" asked Nal.  
  
"Well, um... actually yes," and begins to spin out all this great  
stuff about Bigfoot and why he hides in mountains (?).  
  
"Wow," Nal's amethyst eyes sparkled, "I never knew all that. I've also  
been studying paranormal phenomena in general, really."  
  
"Really?" Dib was surprised. Everyone thought he was crazy, and here  
he was, calmly talking to a girl who seemed sane about this, "Wow.  
Everyone thinks I'm crazy because I study it."  
  
Nal sighed and looked away.  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean. People always made fun of me for studying  
it so I kinda forgot about it. Now I wish I didn't, because I'm  
missing out and I really liked being interested in it and all. You  
never cared what other people thought of you, did you?" she asked,  
seeming a little uncomfortable.  
  
Dib looked surprised. "No. No I didn't."  
  
She smiled. "Hey, have you ever had a real experience with anything  
paranormal?"  
  
"Yes. Um, let's see here. There's this person in our class, his name's  
Zim, and I'm pretty sure he's an alien." Dib said.  
  
"Who, the green kid?" Nal asked, frowning, "Well, I guess so. That's  
what I thought when I saw him. I mean it's pretty weird how you're the  
only one who even suspects the fact that he might not be human. I mean  
he's green."  
  
"Exactly," Dib said, happy she believed him, "That's what everyone  
keeps denying. And, he has no ears!"  
  
"Really?" Nal looked across the playground at Zim, who was tangled in  
a swing, "You're right! It's so weird how you're the only one who even  
notices all of this."  
"Yeah, and actually," Dib lowered his voice to a whisper, "Sometimes  
I spy on him to see what he's up to."  
  
"Oh, you have to let me come with you sometime!" Nal said excitedly,  
"I've never had a real experience with anything paranormal before!"  
  
"Oh, well... sure!"  
  
* * *  
  
That night, Dib waited at the curb near Zim's house, where he was  
meeting Nal.  
  
He heard rushed footsteps coming from down the street. He turned  
around in alarm and saw Nal running toward him. Her icy blue hair  
flapped behind her. She came to a halt before Dib.  
  
"Hey," she greeted, "So what are the plans?"  
  
"Well," Dib explained, "I usually hide in the bushes-"  
  
"No, Dib," Nal got this odd malicious glint in her eye.  
  
"What do you mean?" Dib asked, confused.  
  
Nal turned toward him with a grin on her face, "Let's go into his  
house instead."  
  
Before he could finish, Nal ran up to Zim's door (with Dib running  
after) and knocked on the door. She then dived behind some bushes. Dib  
followed suit.  
  
The door swung open. Zim looked around looking frustrated.  
  
"Who dares interrupt the mighty Zim? Gir, go out there and find those  
filthy humans. Then, eat them or something," Zim said.  
  
"Ohhhhh-kay!" Gir zipped up his dog suit, bounced out into the street,  
and looked around, "I doooon't seeee anytheeeeng!"  
  
"Nonsense, Gir! There are filthy humans out there and I will show  
you!"  
  
As soon as Zim went out to the street, Nal grabbed Dib's hand and ran  
into the house.  
  
"Hey look at this!" Nal cried, pointing at a futuristic-looking  
machine. She pulled out a camera and took several pictures.  
  
"Um, Nal I-" but before Dib could finish his sentence, Zim burst into  
the room. Dib looked around apprehensively, but Nal didn't seem to  
care.  
  
"Curse you, Earth Boy! Curse yooouuuuu-" but suddenly, Zim got cut  
off. He was staring at Nal with a look of utmost horror.  
  
Dib looked at Nal. They both knew what was coming. They both bolted  
out the door and ran to Dib's house. They came to a skidding halt on  
the sidewalk and caught their breath.  
  
"Hey Nal. What was-" Nal put a finger on Dib's lips.  
  
"Shhhh..." Nal cooed.  
  
"But-" Before Dib could finish, Nal leaned in and placed her lips on  
his cheek while Dib could only stand there dumbfounded.  
  
"See you later!" And with that, she ran into the night.  
  
* * *  
  
Dib lay in bed thinking about Nal. It was odd. She was everything he  
could ever want in a girl and maybe even more. But the thing was, he  
just wasn't satisfied. She was just so mysterious. He decided, right  
then and there, he would get to know her more somehow. With that  
thought, Dib fell asleep and slept like a baby.  
  
During lunch at Skool, Zim approached Dib and Nal. Well, more like  
disturbed them.  
  
"Nal, I just wanted to say that I know why you and the Dib-monkey  
were spying on me. It's quite simple, actually. You just wanted to  
prove to him that he will never be as sexy as me, which explains the  
pictures," here Zim went into a pose which would show off his muscles  
if he had any. He winked at Nal.  
  
Nal looked at him with a look of pure disgust and smashed a muffin in  
his face. Zim started suffocating.  
  
"C'mon, Dib," said Nal.  
  
Later that day, Jessica and her gang passed Dib and Nal. Jessica  
whispered to her friends excitedly and they began to laugh. Jessica  
then approached Nal as the other girls watched.  
  
"Woooooo!" teased Jessica, "It looks like Dib and Nal are- ahhhhhhh!"  
  
Before you know it, Nal's on top of Jessica beating the crap out of  
her as the other girls fled. Nal gave her a last punch and stood up.  
She gave Jessica one last kick in the side and walked away. Dib stared  
at Jessica moaning on the floor in pain and then remembered. He ran  
after Nal, leaving the other kids in amazement. Dib and Nal walked  
side by side down the hall to the playground. Dib couldn't help but  
notice Nal was a little bit shorter than him. Well, he was tall for  
his age and. what was he doing? Didn't he need to do something? Okay,  
here goes.  
  
"Hey N-nal," Dib stuttered. This wasn't going to be easy.  
  
"Yeah?" Nal looked up, hiding a smile with much difficulty.  
  
"Um d'you," Dib cleared his throat, "Do you want to go see a movie  
with me? Like, well, together. Because well, you know how other kids,  
like The Letter M and Mary, they're... well um. I..."  
  
Nal laughed, causing Dib to sweat like crazy, "Of course I will!  
When?"  
  
"Tonight," Dib said, relaxing and grinning, "At 6."  
  
That night, Dib and Nal saw a movie together about (guess what)  
aliens. They didn't even pay attention to the movie because they were  
both so nervous about being on a date and all and trying to figure out  
what's going to happen next. They kept on looking over at each other  
and looking away immediately every time the other looked back.  
Finally, Dib took a deep breath and slowly slipped his fingers into  
hers. She looked over at him and smiled shyly. Finally, the movie  
ended and they walked out, hand in hand.  
  
"So... Nal... can I walk you home?" Dib asked.  
  
Nal looked scared and looked as if she didn't quite know what to do.  
  
"Oh, if you don't want to, that's fine," Dib said, trying to hide his  
disappointment.  
  
"Oh, no, it's not that! It's just..." Nal looked apprehensive, "It's  
just that my house isn't really all that nice. And well, my parents  
aren't exactly the nicest people in the world. I don't even think I  
can be here with you."  
  
Dib looked hurt and kind of turned.  
  
"Oh! That's not what I meant! I mean, I'm not even allowed to go on  
dates. They think I'm just meeting some friends," Nal quickly added.  
  
"Oh, I can understand that,' Dib said relieved.  
  
"Yeah... can I walk you home instead?" Nal said.  
  
"Of course," he said, and they walked to his house, talking about  
what the universe was hiding from them.  
  
They stopped in front of Dib's house. They both held hands and Nal's  
sparkling eyes scanned the night sky. Dib looked up too and they stood  
in silence.  
  
"You know," Nal looked into Dib's eyes, "Sometimes, when you look  
up and see all those stars, you just feel so small."  
  
Dib locked eyes with her for a second, and then returned to the sky.  
  
"Sometimes... when I look at them, I get a feeling that every answer  
to every question ever asked is just waiting out there. Waiting  
for someone to just. go out there and find it," Dib said.  
  
Nal looked at him and smiled.  
  
"Dib," she said finally, "I had a really great time tonight."  
  
"Yeah, me too," he said, "You think we can do this again some other  
time?"  
  
She smiled and looked a little nervous. She then leaned in and closed  
her eyes. Dib was no idiot. He leaned in and planted his lips on hers.  
They both pulled away and an awkward silence took over. Finally, Dib  
spoke.  
  
"So, are you sure you'll be all right walking home alone at this  
time?"  
  
"Oh, of course. I always do," Nal said, tossing her head and laughing.  
  
"All right," he said, and walked toward his house. But halfway there,  
he turned around and watched Nal walk down the street till she was out  
of sight.  
  
* * *  
  
The next night, Dib planned to spy on Zim with Nal again, but she was  
nowhere to be seen. He waited so long; he decided to go to Zim's by  
himself.  
  
As he arrived, bright lights of all colors emitted from the roof.  
  
All right! Dib thought, Zim's doing something alien-related!  
  
Dib went to a place where he could get a pretty clear view of all that  
was happening.  
  
"Take that, you evil-blooded vermin!" a female voice cried as a  
bright purple laser flew across the roof.  
  
That's weird, Dib thought, I think Zim's battling another alien!  
  
He looked up just as Zim used Gir to fire a laser, causing the female  
to fall from the roof. Spider-legs emerged from Zim's pak, and he  
followed the female.  
  
"Nal, I knew it all along!" cried Zim.  
  
"Don't lie! You never had a clue until I showed up!" cried the  
female, as she shot another purple laser from a futuristic-looking  
gun.  
  
Nal? It couldn't be. Dib looked at the female alien. She definitely  
wasn't Irken, he could tell by the antennae shape and the skin color.  
But she had purple eyes. huge glittering purple eyes.  
  
Then he noticed her odd silver necklace.  
  
"Nal!" Dib cried. Nal looked over and was caught off-guard. That's  
when Zim hit her with the brightest laser he'd ever seen. Nal fell to  
the ground.  
  
"No!" Right then, everything seemed to go in slow motion. Just a  
couple days ago, Nal first came to their Skool and for the first time,  
Dib had a friend. No, he had more than a friend. Dib dodged several  
lasers and landed at her side. He scrambled up and held her, waiting  
for a sign of life. She sputtered a cough and with much effort, opened  
her sparkling eyes.  
  
"Dib. when I first came to your planet," Nal said weakly, "I had a  
mission, to use you to gain information about Zim, destroy Zim, and  
soon after, destroy you. I'm sorry, Dib, but at my planet, we either  
complete our mission or die trying. But the thing is, when I did use  
you to gain information, I couldn't complete my mission because.  
because my race isn't supposed to feel love." Her eyes filled with  
tears, making them sparkle even more.  
  
Meanwhile, Zim was preparing an even bigger laser. Dib panicked. Nal  
was too weak to get up, and it was nearly impossible for Dib to carry  
her to safety. This was it. He was going to die with her. Just then,  
Nal ripped off her necklace and threw it to him. He caught it and  
looked at her. She nodded and Dib understood. Nal was about to die so  
he could live. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. As Zim shot  
the laser, Dib dived. He looked back and saw the bright green laser.  
It was all over. Nal was gone.  
  
Dib woke in a cold sweat on his own bed. He was breathing heavily. It  
was a dream, he thought, relieved.  
  
He lay in bed for a second and caught his breath. He really thought  
Nal was.  
  
God, what a crazy dream. It was like the whole Tak fiasco all over  
again.  
  
Tak. what a disaster. She had toyed with his feelings. Used him.made  
him fall in love with her. Just so she could accomplish her mission.  
But wasn't that Nal's intention too? But Nal had sacrificed herself.  
to prevent embarrassment to herself. and to save him..  
  
He sat up and a jingling noise was heard and a small thump following.  
  
He couldn't move for a moment. Dib then looked at the floor and saw.  
Nal's necklace.  
  
He ran out the door to Zim's as fast as he could. He was going to beat  
the living shit out of him.  
  
Upon arriving there, he saw that Zim's house was gone. Just an  
abandoned, empty lot.  
  
He felt sick to his stomach. Nal was gone, he would never be able to  
avenge her death, and now, to prove the existence of aliens was lost.  
  
He walked past a bridge overlooking a lake. He never noticed how blue  
it was. Dib sat down on the bridge and held the necklace in his hand,  
letting the chain weave through his fingers. He then looked into the  
water, and dropped Nal's necklace in, never to be seen again. 


End file.
